Zachary Austin

Marx

English 134

9/20/04

San Rafael

 

            As a young child, I would visit my grandparents in Marin County often. My parents would pack my sister and me up in the car, and we would head north from San Francisco to the small town of Novato. The road to Novato took us through San Rafael, where I would always marvel at the one mile stretch of shopping mall that Highway 101 traversed. However, once we were into the hills of wine country and the shopping mall was a distant memory, so too became San Rafael. It wasn’t until I met Paul, my partner, that I learned the full story behind this fascinating town.

San Rafael is located on the wedge of land that divides the San Francisco Bay and the mighty Pacific Ocean. Lying just 10 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Rafael serves as a major shopping destination and is the gateway to Wine Country. Despite its apparent peacefulness, closer examination reveals some interesting contrasts in this suburb of San Francisco, both in the surrounding environment and in the actual inhabitants themselves.

            Hills dominate much of San Rafael’s geographical profile. Partially located on a large rock quarry, San Rafael’s jagged edges provide stark contrast with its smooth, rolling hills and the nearby China Camp State Park, an almost unknown escape filled with lush greenery and forests. 10 years ago, both the state park and the surrounding hills were covered with oak trees. Recently however, the disease Sudden Oak Death has posed a serious threat to every oak tree in the area. Forestry officials have been forced to burn out any trees that have been infected with the disease, leaving the skeletons of these once mighty trees to dot the landscape. These reminders of nature’s transience contrast strongly with the still thriving state park near by, and make some wonder about the future of the park. The weather in San Rafael is typical of that of the Bay Area and it lies socked in fog much of the early part of the year. The fog burns off by late spring, however, and the city enjoys temperatures in the high 70s during the summer and into fall.

            The mostly conservative population of San Rafael provides yet another contrast between the town and the surrounding area, traditionally a liberal stronghold. This conservative attitude is evident in the fierce opposition present towards any construction of needed low income housing. It is feared that this new construction will harm the areas already skyrocketing property values. There is also an ongoing legal battle between the citizens of the city and the proprietors of the nearby quarry. Concerned property owners are contesting that trucks going to and from the quarry with heavy payloads are tearing up roads in the area, and constant traffic causes unneeded pollution. The plaintiffs in the case are also contesting that blasts from the quarry are damaging the serene quality of the town, despite its location on the longest highway in the state. While several of these arguments could be disputed, the citizens of San Rafael will certainly defend their town from all who they believe threaten it.

            San Rafael’s economic center is made up of its two large malls, destinations in themselves, made up of mostly larger chain stores. Much of the labor necessary for these monuments of capitalism is provided by the Hispanic population of San Rafael. Making up approximately one third of the population, many of these people live in the one low-income area of the city. These cheap apartments highlight the opulence of the large houses that are scattered around the hills surrounding the city.

            For the most part, the youth of San Rafael are bored out of their minds. Aside from a small local music scene, there simply isn’t much worth doing. Most teenagers leave San Rafael looking for something to do, and drug use is rampant among high school age students. This high rate of drug rate is due to a multitude of reasons. In addition to the intense boredom, many use drugs as an escape from the expectations of their parents and the intense atmosphere at San Rafael’s several private college preparatory high schools. These schools have a long expectation of both academic and sporting excellence, and those unable to cope with these expectations sometimes see drugs as their only way out.

            As illustrated here, San Rafael can be seen as a study in contrasts, within its environment, the political beliefs of its citizens, and in the racial and economic breakdown of these citizens. I learned from Paul that San Rafael was much more than I had originally thought. I quickly discovered that it was not, in fact, the pretty little town that existed solely to feed the two large malls it contained, but in fact has its own charms and dirty little secrets. Just like every town across America, it is not exactly what it seems.